Steal my horse, not my heart
by Binky1987
Summary: Wild West/Cowboy AU. Shirayuki was adopted by Garrack and Shidan who own and run a bar, brothel and also an illegal healing business. Her beauty is renown throughout the town (and outside of e catches the eye of an influential businessman and events lead up to her having to bed a man to close a deal but it turns out to be an outlaw/drifter who she finds out is a man named Obi


**Steal my horse, not my heart**

 **Prelude**

The quaint town of Lyrias was a drop in the ocean throughout the vast land of Clarines.

It had a saloon bar which made money (just barely) whether it was from the alcohol or the money on the side that Garrack took from running an illegal healing business.

But mostly it was the brothel. And the gold that came from Garrack's third business wasn't exactly something she was proud of...but it was the wild west and brothels were as common in a town as moonshine.

Her husband, Shidan, was the official owner of their businesses but all in all, Garrack was the boss and ran the business with him. Shidan was one of those 'new age' cowboys - a businessman but also, knew when his match was met.

And believe me, when he met Garrack all those years ago when he'd been shot by an outlaw drifting through town, he _knew_ he was done for...and it wasn't death either.

It was her cold methodical hands that really threw him and also her calculating eyes that told him she was beyond her years - and a woman at that. The fact that she saved his life was one thing (that drew him in) but it was how she wasn't afraid of him, like she should have been.

Times as they were did not afford women rights, well, not as many as a man. They weren't allowed to own businesses and certain jobs were outlawed for women to practice in too and although recently it had been announced from the President in a new law that women were now allowed to perform healing as an aide (not a doctor), it was still very much frowned upon.

But Shidan wasn't like that and he had always believed that if you were smart enough it didn't matter what sex you were.

And soon after meeting the woman, he grew to know Garrack a whole lot more. She was beautiful, smart, multi-tasked like no ones business and funnily enough, she was even a decent cook.

At first, he couldn't stop thinking about her. The way she told things how they were, unafraid, but also how she would easily call him out on things.

Maybe any other man would have probably beat the wits out of her by now but he hated men like that. If she could see something he couldn't then he welcomed her fresh outlook.

Then one day, out of the blue as they sat eating the previous days pide out the back of his ranch on the grass located on the outskirts of town that he turned to her and finally just said what he was thinking.

 _"You know, Gee...I have ta say yer smarter than me."_

 _Her blue orbs were firstly wide with a little surprise but then her crows feet creased and her lips curved into the biggest smile he'd ever seen._

 _"C'mon now, Danny...are yer sick?" she asked, dipping her head to the side to observe him closely. "I never thought you'd ever admit that."_

 _Shidan shook his head with a laugh. "Yer right. The moment I met ya I knew though."_

And then he remembered getting on his knee and proposing to her and it was the best decision he'd ever made.

It was when she told him ten years back that she wanted to open a healing business that he had to question her though.

But how could he say 'no' to his wife? The woman that could heal a person's cold with herbs and just simple know how? And how she diagnosed Mrs Garby's symptoms in her dying bed as the Flu which was incurable, but, she was even researching that too (in secret of course).

And when they'd opened the saloon (taken in over from Mrs Garby's husband) he had to wonder, maybe it could work.

Times were hard, they always had been in the west but then they'd heard word of President Wistalia outlawing moonshine. For what reason, no one had a clue, but that meant that there would be an increase in illegal activity soon.

There also was the fact that seven years ago, a young teenager had drifted into town with the reddest hair anyone had ever seen.

At first Shidan warned Garrack that she would be trouble and it was then that they argued for the first time.

One day, six months after Garrack had decided to adopt her, he witnessed her saving a young man with silver hair from a bullet wound and he couldn't help but realise that what Garrack had said about her was right.

Shirayuki, well, she was just like _her_. So brazen and unafraid...smart too.

The years passed and the red apple haired teen turned into a beautiful woman who became the talk of the town.

Shidan was okay with it but he was always on edge. She was his daughter now so when men eyed her from across the room when she was working behind the bar, he hated it.

He also didn't like that she had caught the attention of Touka Bergatt - the eldest Bergatt brother who now owned the Bergatt Company. The company was the biggest importer of whisky and rum there was and therefore, he was rich (not to mention handsome) and drifted into town occasionally to check on the progress of business.

Every time Shidan walked through town and saw the familiar horse and carriage parked outside the saloon he would inwardly cringe. And every night after Bergatt's arrival, he would give the same damn speech to her about being careful, saying no politely but being assertive too and every time his wife would eye him pointedly and Shirayuki would sigh.

 _"I know Father. I'm not interested, trust me."_

 _Shidan's eyes narrowed suspiciously but looked away when he could feel the daggers coming from his lovely wife._

 _"I...I say it often. I know I do but its just, I worry that's all."_

The two girls would always chuckle and reassure him that it was handled.

But then why? Why was he always so _right_?

It was the wild west though. There were cowboys, Indians and big corrupt business tycoons and a whole lot of bad luck.

And sometimes, just _sometimes,_ there were little specs of happiness.

Shidan didn't know that the man who he had 'organised' to trade places with the business tycoon Hisame Lugis would become so entwined in their lives.

He was a god damned cowboy for gods sake - and an outlaw at that (well, was)!

Shidan figured that it was bad luck that _he_ had chosen him and that he had been right that Shirayuki was going to be trouble for them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

He took a drag of his pipe, letting the smoke drift down his throat and then breathed out the poisonous fumes back out again and sighed.

When all the tobacco was spent, he lifted a hand to the top of his wide rimmed hat and pushed it further down onto his head.

Shidan turned to walk back inside to his wife and daughter who sat in the living room, almost ready to call it a night. Garrack was reading a ledger - one she insisted on keeping to help them track the finances of their businesses - and Shirayuki sat with her legs folded underneath her backside on the couch with a book in her hand.

Her long red locks cascaded down her shoulders and her forest green orbs followed each line as she read down the page and Shidan could only smile.

He lifted a hand to pull off his hat and placed it onto the side table beside the couch which caused Shirayuki to look away from her book to see her father staring at her.

Her pink lips pursed and lines formed on her forehead for a moment, so he knew he was in trouble.

"Father, you shouldn't smoke-"

"I know, but I heard a rumor that you've been asked to perform a task in the morrow."

 _Perhaps his meddling caused all this but he had to choose between his daughter's sanctity or falling in love with an outlaw._

 _But that's what father's were supposed to do. They made the hard choices._

 _And it was the west - you either get screwed over or screw it for someone else._

 _In the end, he knew, he had zero regrets._


End file.
